Tag Archives: study abroad advice

I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me, right? Well, I promised one last reflection post about traveling abroad as an adoptee, and I am bound and determined to follow through!

Studying in a foreign country is all-encompassing, but now I can see that it was only a chapter in my story.

Now that I’m a good six months out from my China experience, it’s easier to look back on my time there and see the bigger picture. When I was abroad, I had a hard time remembering what life was like before I’d arrived in China, and I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to come back home to the United States. Studying in a foreign country is all-encompassing – it took over every aspect of my life – but now I can see that it was only a chapter in my story.

My iPhone was stolen near my apartment. Here’s the story, my reflections, and some tips for the future.

Well this is definitely one blog post I hoped I’d never have to write. Last Tuesday, my phone was stolen. Here’s the whole story, some of my reflections on the whole experience, and tips for other travelers in the future. But to sum everything up: If you’re in a big city, you’re never one hundred percent safe. Be careful of your belongings at all times.

The Story

Tuesday, November 18th, 8:59pm

I was coming back from a field trip in Felix’s class, and the van was stopped right in front of the street vendors. Thinking I’d grab a bite to eat and then head up to the apartment and watch television, I happily hopped out of the van a bit early, ordered some noodles, and was off on my merry way.Continue reading How My Phone Got Stolen In Shanghai→

On my last day in Xiamen, I reflect back on the entire trip and the lessons I’ve learned along the way!

Friday, November 7th, 6:28pm

Well, the last day of my independent travel is here! Long story short, I spent the morning in a cafe, made my way over to the ferry, and then got a little lost, but I’m now safely at the airport ready to catch my flight back to Shanghai.

Since this was my first time traveling solo, everything was new, I only knew that I was doing half the time, and lots of things didn’t quite turn out the way I thought they were going to. Xiamen tested the limits of my ability to problem solve (in Chinese), and I definitely learned a lot from the experience. So in no particular order, here are the 6 life lessons I picked up while traveling solo. Continue reading 6 Things I Learned From My Independent Travel→

Hi, everyone! Today I’ll be introducing my 9 favorite apps that are helping me to survive Shanghai! I don’t normally give study abroad tips on this blog (because I’m definitely no study abroad expert), but now that I’ve been in China for about five months, these apps have really made my life easier, and I wanted to share them with all of you!

If you’re a student about to study abroad in China, a lot of these apps are definitely must-haves before taking off for the semester! If you’re not, maybe some of these apps will be useful to you at home!

My name is Laurelin, and I’m a recent college graduate. I spent a year studying abroad in China, and now I have the opportunity to serve with the Peace Corps in Albania! I have no idea where this journey will take me, but I’m excited to find out!